BYKNMC teachers and senior form students are coaches for junior form students and provide an excellent reading service that develops deeper comprehension skills and makes reading fun! We believe English-language ability and creativity are essential assets for the personal growth of students. Buddy Reading brings the enjoyment and benefits of storytelling to students who otherwise would not have had the experience at home or school. With Buddy Reading, they will grasp a chance to be read to and take part in fun reading sessions fostering improvement in their English language ability and creativity.

Book Title: The Secret Garden

Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett

Teacher: Mr. Chan Chi Chung William

Synopsis:

Mary Lennox, a horrid girl, is selfish and spoilt. After her parents died of cholera, she is sent to stay with her hunchback uncle, who keeps one of the gardens locked up since his wife’s death. But when Mary finds the way into the secret garden and begins to tend it, a change comes over her and her life. She meets and befriends a local boy, the talented Dickon, and comes across her sickly cousin Colin who had been kept hidden from her. Between them, the three children work astonishing magic in themselves and those around them as they later find out that when a thing is neglected it withers and dies, but when it is worked on and cared for it thrives.

Book Title: Give Me a Hug

Story Editor: Ding (based on stories of Nick Vujicic)

Teacher: Ms. Chung Mei King

Synopsis:

Nick’s life has been tough ever since he entered this world, as he was born without arms and legs. However, he did not give up. He doesn’t see his life with no limbs, but as one with no limits. He simply lives courageously with a thankful heart. ‘I never met a bitter person who was thankful. Or a thankful person who was bitter.’ Nick said. Six years ago, Nick founded the charity ‘Life Without Limbs’. He went to over 40 countries to spread the message of love and care to different people. Nick sets a very good example to us about how we can give ourselves and others a warm hug (not necessarily physically). Read this book, which is easy to read with beautiful illustrations, to find out more about Nick’s amazing philosophy of life!

Book Title: Pride and Prejudice

Author: Jane Austin

Teacher: Ms. Chung Wing Yan

Synopsis:

When Elizabeth Bennet first met Mr. Darcy, she found him proud and unfriendly. He also seemed indifferent to her, despite her good appearance and cleverness. And when Elizabeth discovered that Mr. Darcy involved himself in the troubled relationship between his friend Mr. Bingley and her beloved sister Jane, she was determined to dislike him more than ever. As misunderstandings grew, scandal broke out and romance blossomed, both Elizabeth and Darcy came to understand the stupidity of their prejudices and learnt that first impressions might not always be reliable.

Book Title: The Phantom of the Opera

Author: Gaston Leroux

Teacher: Ms. Foo Fong Fei

Synopsis:

Based on the mystery of the Paris Opera House, this classic work of suspense leads readers down the path into the dark regions of the human heart. The story begins with an investigation on the legendary actor who walks along the building’s labyrinthine corridors. But more tragic incidents unfold following the triumphant performance of beautiful Christine Daae.

Presumably to be attacks brought about by the ghost, these incidents strike terror in the hearts of everyone. The captivating original story that has inspired numerous film producers and captured even more theatergoers and filmgoers has proved to be an unparalleled work for entertainment.

Teacher: Miss Hui Wing Sze

Book Title: Wonder

Author: R.J. Palacio

Synopsis:                                                                 

Wonder is a novel by Raquel Jaramillo. It tells the story of a young boy, Auggie, with a facial deformity who learns to live and accept who he is after going to a local school.

Auggie settles into the first few months of school and his classmates slowly get used to the way his face looks. Yet, he still faces a lot of challenges and he is bullied by some of the schoolmates. Finally, he makes friends with a lot of kind and helpful students.

I like this book as I am impressed by one famous quote of the movie:

‘When Given the Choice Between Being Right or Being Kind, Choose Kind.’

I love the quote as I think everyone should always be kind and sincere to people around us.

Teacher: Ms. Lee Nga Kit

Book Title: The Time Keeper

Author: Mitch Albom

Synopsis:

Banished for centuries, as punishment for trying to measure time, the inventor of the world’s first clock (Father Time) is finally granted his freedom, along with a mission: a chance to redeem himself by teaching two people the true meaning and value of time.

He then starts his journey with two partners: a teenage girl who is about to give up on life, and a wealthy old businessman who wants to live forever. To save Father Time himself, he must save them both.

Father Time changes their fates by using a magical hourglass to stop time and show them their futures. This gives the girl and the old man a chance to rethink their original plans.

Some people spend time on some meaningless issues and so they miss out on some of the most important things in life. This story inspires us to reconsider our beliefs of time. We should understand how precious time really is and value every moment of every day!

Teacher: Mr. Tse Wun Bong

Book Title: The First Phone Call from Heaven

Author: Mitch Albom

When a small town in the US suddenly has citizens receiving phone calls from their dead relatives - a mystery of faith and belief unfolds. In this interesting novel the reader is allowed to experience the story through the eyes of multiple characters including a police chief, funeral home organizer and normal towns people. Whether they believe in a “God” or “heaven” will play a large part in how they interpret the calls from deceased loved ones. Even the main characters struggle with the question of where these calls are coming from and begin to investigate the cause. They go from one suspect to another trying to answer their community’s confusion and close the case with a simple answer. Even the mayor wants to take advantage of the situation to bring attention to their small town. However, I will not reveal the ending of the story to you as you should really read this book on your own.

Teacher: Ms. Wu Hang Yiu Sharon

Book Title: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time

Author: Mark Haddon

Synopsis:   Christopher is a 15-year-old boy who has behavioural problems and lives with his father, Ed. His mother, Judy, died two years before. Then one day, the boy discovers the dead body of the neighbour's dog, Wellington. Christopher wants to find out the truth and he starts to investigate the dog’s death. This is how this adventurous journey begins.

Christopher is a very special teenager. He may have problems getting along with others but he is very good at Maths. He may not be able to express himself but he has a kind heart. I think one of the messages from this book is that everyone is different and unique. Everyone is good at something and no one is perfect. We need to respect others even though we are different in many ways and create a more harmonious society.

Teacher: Mr. W. Shepard

Book Title: The Hunger Games

Author: Suzanne Collins


This is the second time I have read The Hunger Games! And since reading it the first time round I've wanted to read it again! The book was 100% better than the film.

Synopsis:

In a place once known as North America, now known as Panem, is a very rich City surrounded by twelve Districts. Every year because this very rich City, known as The Capitol, is so rich and likes to think they control all the Districts - which they do - there is something known as The Hunger Games! This is where two children, one boy and one girl from each district from the ages of twelve to eighteen, have to leave their families and compete in The Hunger Games, a live event that is aired on TV's all over Panem. When Katniss Everdeen, aged sixteen from District 12, has to volunteer to take the place of her twelve-year-old sister Prim after Prim's name is called forth to become the 23rd member to compete in The 74th Hunger Games, she promises to Prim that she will win!

Katniss doesn't believe she's coming out alive - but she's not going down without a fight.
　

Spending Time written by Daniel Hamermesh

“Time is limited by the number of hours in a day, days in a year, and years in our lives. Everyone faces scarcity, so you have to make choices involving trade-offs and limited resources. How do you utilise your time, and outperform the one sitting next to you?”

It was the question my classmates and I got asked in our very first Economics lesson, the day I just turned 16 years old. Fast forward to several years later, the same question hit me again. Since I had to decide my career path after university, I just had my finger in too many pies in the penultimate year. The moment I was about to get away from it all, the moment I came across the book Spending Time by Daniel Hamermesh. 

This book shows why time stress increases in today’s highly competitive society and how it impinges upon every decision we make. Hamermesh also provides different stories and case studies for discussion. After all, it will leave you inspired and motivated to spend your time in a more competent fashion.

Teacher: Ms. Kwok Po Yi

Teacher: Ms. Sumerah Khan

The Witches, written by Roald Dahl, is a book about a brave young boy and his grandmother fighting witches who hate children. These witches have evil magic powers and turn children who are clean into mice and eat them.

In this book, terrible things happen to the boy, who turns into a mouse. Yet he, with his grandmother, uses his skills to fight The Grand Witches’ plan to turn all children in England into mice! Want to know what happens next? Read the book!

I think this book is very creative and imaginative. Even though it has a sad ending, it shows the love a grandmother has for her grandchild would never change. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves creative stories with dramatic elements.

Teacher: Ms. Chan Kit Ki

Actually, Rain Man, was an American dramatic film, released in 1988, starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman, which was a hit with both critics and audiences and won four Academy Awards. Charlie Babbit (Cruise), a driven salesman, heads out for a weekend trip with his coworker and girlfriend. On the road, he receives a phone call telling him that his estranged father has died in Cincinnati, Ohio. He and Susanna fly there to attend the funeral. He finds that his father has left him only a 1949 Buick Roadmaster Charlie had driven without permission when he was 16 years old, an escapade that resulted in his spending two nights in jail and in his estrangement from his father, and some rosebushes the rest of the $3 million estate bequeathed to an unnamed trustee. After a selfish L.A. yuppie learns his estranged father left a fortune to an autistic-savant brother in Ohio that he didn't know existed, he absconds with his brother and sets out across the country, hoping to gain a larger inheritance.

Teacher: Ms. Kung Chau Yin

Emma is a novel about youthful hubris and romantic misunderstandings, written by Jane Austen. The novel centres on Emma, a precocious young woman whose misplaced confidence in her matchmaking abilities occasions several romantic misadventures, set in a fictional country village and the surrounding estates of Hartfield, and involves the relationships among people from a small number of families. Emma deals with the theme of self-delusion and it ends with the marriage of Harriet and Mr. Martin and that of Emma and Mr. Knightley, resolving the question of who loves whom after all, but it could be difficult to comprehend due to the language used. It may be harder for younger children to understand but an older child could be able to infer what Austen is portraying.